Requiem
by Thus Spake The Pancake
Summary: Yugi dies after taking a bullet for Seto Kaiba, who is left to struggle with owing a favor to a dead man and the concept of friendship. Sometimes, it's just best to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel rather than on the cloud hanging over your head.
1. Chapter 1

Requiem

* * *

_Yugi and Kaiba were in the midst of a duel at the Kaiba Land Duel Dome, which Kaiba had closed for the day so that the two could battle it out for the first time since the departure of the Spirit of the Puzzle. At this point, he was past all the theatrics. He just wanted to beat Yugi once and for all. Despite continually denying the whole situation with the puzzle (along with questioning the sanity of four specific nerds), Kaiba was still just a little convinced it was why Yugi came off as so great, whether there was the existence of an ancient spirit or not._

_Yugi slapped a card down on his Duel Disk, and two monsters disappeared while a third monster appeared in a flash of light, revealing a violet-clad magician with a sleek green staff. Kaiba smirked at how predictable Yugi's play was, and pointed out that he still had two Blue Eyes White Dragons in his deck. Of course, Yugi still had all three God cards. But Kaiba also knew that the shorter duelist was too kind to rub that in his face, so he wouldn't get it thrown back at him. The game continued, until Yugi froze and stared at something behind Kaiba._

_"What are you looking at?" Kaiba demanded. "Make your move."_

_"There's someone standing behind you."_

_The taller man turned around, to find a woman standing there, glaring at him. Yugi felt something was off and ran to stand beside his opponent-slash-insisted-to-be-friend. Kaiba spared a scowl at the shorter duelist before turning back to the woman._

_"This dome is closed, and we're in the middle of a duel. You're trespassing."_

_The woman drew a shining pistol from her purse. Yugi gasped, but Kaiba crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes even more._

_"I just found out that Gozaburo Kaiba had my husband killed. My husband worked for him loyally for over twenty years, and that was the thanks Kaiba Corp gave him. It's unacceptable." Her speech was frighteningly calm, but a bit jerky. Yugi held his hands up and crept forward a bit._

_"I know you're upset, but I promise you that _Seto_ is nothing like that man," he said shakily, using his rival's given name instead in order to differentiate him from his adoptive father. Kaiba growled and stepped forward, away from Yugi._

_"Stop talking, Yugi, this is none of your business," he snapped, still staring at the woman. "I am not my adoptive father. What happened to your husband is not my fault, but-"_

_"Hell if you're not your father!" she screamed, lifting the gun at him. "The way you're speaking to this kid right here..." She snorted and pulled the trigger. Yugi cried out, then threw his tiny body into Kaiba's much-larger tall, lanky form, shoving him to the side and forcing him to stumble onto the ground. The woman turned and fled, and Kaiba turned a glare onto Yugi._

_"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted, but his anger faltered when what happened registered in his head. Yugi was frozen on all fours, his breathing rapid and shallow. He slowly collapsed onto his side, revealing a large, darkening crimson stain on the front of his jacket. Kaiba used the communication device in his lapel to demand an ambulance at the dome, then scrambled over to Yugi. He tore off his white coat and pressed it on the wound, but it was no use. Yugi was gone before too much blood had soaked into Kaiba's coat, let alone before the ambulance had arrived._

* * *

**Two weeks later...**

It was going on three in the morning, and Mokuba was lounging on the sofa in his brother's home office, watching his brother _not_ work at his desk. Kaiba stared unseeingly at the screensaver of the computer. The KC logo popped around from place to place on the screen as though it was begging for attention, something the company had been quite deprived of lately.

The little Kaiba sighed quietly to himself and rolled onto his stomach, pillowing his chin into his arms. The night after Yugi died, Seto had not come home, nor did he return for a couple days after that. He wasn't at work, either, and even a couple weeks later, Mokuba still had no clue where he'd gone in that time. Mokuba hadn't even heard what happened until the news of the death was being broadcast all over Domino the next morning. Seto had finally showed up at home the day after that; while Mokuba couldn't read his expression, he definitely knew his big brother needed some serious alone time. After all, it was no secret that Yugi had died in his arms.

Mokuba knew that no matter how much his brother insulted or complained about that whole little group of people, he had a bond with the shortest member. And watching him die really wasn't sitting as well as one might think with the ice-cold CEO.

So the little Kaiba watched as his brother sat there, in his semi-catatonic trance, not blinking, not moving, and just hardly breathing. Finally, Mokuba walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his back. Kaiba barely registered the contact; he was usually quite sensitive to touch. The younger brother moved his hand to his brother's dark chestnut hair and began running his fingers through the locks until blue eyes finally blinked and he returned to the present.

"Seto..."

Kaiba ducked away from Mokuba's hand, but took it into his own without speaking a word. The kid frowned as he stood there silently, just allowing his brother to hold on for awhile. Mokuba wasn't surprised that his brother was bothered, per say; no, he was surprised that his brother was taking it so _hard_. Mokuba was sad that Yugi was dead, too, but they'd actually been friends. Then again, neither brother had quite the stomach to deal with death very well. It had littered their lives from the time they were just babies, and extraordinary amounts of pain had followed each time. Well, except for when Gozaburo died. While that in itself did not bother either brother in the least, it had brought a whole different sort of hurt to Mokuba as far as his brother was concerned.

But that was in the past. This was now.

Mokuba placed his other hand on top of his brother's and leaned against the desk. "I'm going to make some hot chocolate. I'll make some for you, too, if you'll come with me."

Kaiba nodded silently and followed Mokuba out, hand in hand the entire way down. He let go once they reached the kitchen, and went to go sit on the stool at the center island, watching Mokuba measure out cocoa powder, sugar, and milk into a pot on the stove. A few minutes later, the kid pulled out a couple of mugs, poured the chocolatey liquid into them, then added a handful of marshmallows to his own and a splash of vanilla to Kaiba's. He placed one in front of his brother before climbing up onto the stool beside him.

"Um...Seto...what happened, exactly? The news reports didn't have a whole lot of information," Mokuba ventured carefully, watching his big brother's face carefully.

"I know," Kaiba replied in a low, quiet voice. "I made sure of that." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples before speaking again. "Yugi and I were having our duel...that insane woman got in somehow, and started yelling about how Gozaburo ruined her life. Yugi tried butting in and talking her down, and I told him to stay out of it. Then she shot at me and Yugi pushed me out of the way."

Mokuba choked on a sip of his drink mid-swallow; he hadn't heard about that. "Yugi saved your life..."

Kaiba hesitated, then nodded. It was no secret that he hated owing people favors, but owing a dead person a favor was turning out to be pure torture. Mokuba understood, and slipped off of his stool and wrapped his arms around Kaiba's waist, poking his head up under the elder brother's arm. Kaiba gingerly held the child with one arm as he stared into his mug. The two of them remained like that for a long time, just absorbing each other's warm embrace until Mokuba stepped back, gazing up at his big brother.

"I'm going to try and sleep at least a little," he said softly, leaning in for one more hug before starting off to the staircase. "See you in a few hours, Seto."

Kaiba nodded. His eyes were still locked on the mug, but his mind was back to that day two weeks ago...when Yugi's once-vibrant violet eyes had gone flat, the life running out of them with the blood from his chest, which had been accumulating on Kaiba's hands and jacket. He blinked and shook his head, then stood up to bring both mugs to the sink. After rinsing them out, he dragged himself to the medicine cabinet, where he dumped out twice the recommended dose of sleep aids, swallowing them dry before wandering into Mokuba's bedroom. The kid was only half-awake, but decided not to question it when his big brother crawled up and laid beside him. Once Kaiba seemed situated, Mokuba scooted a bit closer, until he was pressed up against his brother's side.

The elder brother waited until he could hear Mokuba breathing regularly before allowing his own eyes to close. His body was still jumpy, though, and he could feel every synapse firing in each limb. The anxiety was almost too much to deal with while lying completely stationary, until Mokuba rolled over with a sigh and draped an arm over Kaiba's stomach. Kaiba's nerves quelled immediately, and he lightly placed his hand on the child's head, gently pulling his long fingers through the messy raven-colored hair. The repetitive, comforting action soothed him to the point of a strange sort of light sleep. His hand rested across Mokuba's forehead, and his body and breathing had slowed, mind unconscious, but he was still aware of his surroundings...along with a pulling, twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

Requiem

* * *

Mokuba awoke to dim sunlight lazily seeping in through the window. He yawned sleepily, feeling rather unrested, and a glance spared to the glowing clock told him that it was barely six in the morning. _No wonder I'm so tired_, he thought. _I hardly got even two hours of sleep_. After rubbing his eyes in an attempt to rid them of the crust of sleep, he realized he was alone in the room; he could have sworn that his brother had been there with him...he kicked back the blankets and slipped off the mattress, then walked down to his brother's bedroom.

It was empty, and the bed was made perfectly. Mokuba knew his brother typically didn't wake until six-thirty in the morning, so he knew that the bed had most likely been unused once again that night. He continued up one more floor to Kaiba's home office, which he initially thought was also unoccupied, until the filmy scarlet curtains fluttered in the breath of the breeze, which meant that he was out on the balcony. Mokuba swallowed nervously and padded out to join him, finding something he hadn't seen for _years_.

Kaiba was leaning against the white marble rail of the balcony, his face buried in the palms of his hands. His shoulders were trembling slightly as he breathed unevenly. Mokuba just stood there for a moment, unsure of how to proceed in this situation, before taking a few more steps forward until he was standing right beside Kaiba.

"Seto...are you...?" Mokuba whispered, gingerly placing a hand on his brother's back. Kaiba removed his hands from his face, revealing dry cheeks but blue eyes that were now rimmed with red; Mokuba was unsure whether this was due to recent tears or lack of rest. He placed his hand on his brother's arm and lightly tugged, attempting to lead him back inside. Kaiba obliged, and silently followed Mokuba back inside.

"Yugi shouldn't have died," he said as soon as he was seated back at his desk. His voice was as cold and flat as it had ever been. "There's no logical explanation why he should have done that. We weren't friends. We were barely even acquaintances."

"That's not true, Big Brother," Mokuba insisted, albeit quietly. Kaiba shot the kid a sharp look, but the little one ignored it. "Yugi always considered you a friend. He cared about you-he cared about _both_ of us...like we were part of his little group. We mattered to him, at least, and that means _something_, Seto. Very few people have ever really cared about us." Mokuba felt tears springing into his own eyes, and he sniffled briefly before wiping them away and continuing. "I don't think Yugi would have been able to live with himself if he didn't try to save you."

Kaiba slammed his fists down on his desk, a Vesuvius-like rage exploding in his heart. "Damn it, Mokuba, he would have gotten through all of this! And moved on, and gone through life like the happy little leader of the geek convention he always was..."

"What about me, Seto?"

Kaiba was taken aback at Mokuba's interjection. "What?"

"What about me?" Mokuba crossed his arms and slunk back a bit. "If...if you had been the one who had gotten killed, what would have happened to me?"

A brief flashing of something crystalline appeared in Kaiba's eyes, making the deep blue even more vivid for that instant before he blinked it away just as quickly. He stared at Mokuba.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you died, what do you think would happen to me?"

"At least you'd be alive and safe."

"Do you think I'd _want_ to be alive in a world without you?" Mokuba was yelling at this point. "Seto, you're my big brother, and I...I know you want to protect me, but just listen to me for a minute. When I heard that Yugi died, I was sad. I'm _still_ sad, because he was my friend. But at the same time, I'm so happy it wasn't you. You need to appreciate life more. I never want you to put yourself in danger for me or anything ever again. Yugi told me about how you threatened to jump off the stupid ledge if he beat you. If you had died...I wouldn't have even _wanted_ Yugi to save me. But he still would have."

"Mokuba..."

"_So_," Mokuba barreled on, without acknowledging his brother, "I think the way you can pay Yugi back is to start enjoying life. Learn to play games for fun again. Sleep in on the weekends instead of getting up early to work. Start ordering a pizza if you have to work late instead of just eating those dumb pretzels you keep in your desk."

Kaiba sat there motionless before holding out his arms. Mokuba burst into to tears and flung himself into them, sobbing as the elder brother squeezed him tightly. Kaiba buried his face into Mokuba's rumpled hair for a few moments before lifting his head and placing his hands on the child's shoulders to look into those big, tearful gray eyes.

"I want you to go back to bed, Mokuba, and get some more sleep. You're not going to work today."

Mokuba wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve. "What about you?"

Kaiba paused for a moment. "I'm not going to work, but there is one thing I have to take care of."

"What?" Mokuba said flatly, a hint of distrust in his voice. Kaiba ignored that, but opened his desk drawer and extracted a Duel Monsters card out of it, holding it out to Mokuba. The child accepted it and gasped when he saw the Dark Magician. "Yugi's card..."

"I should bring this back to the game shop," Kaiba said quietly. "I suppose I should speak with his grandfather."

The little Kaiba set the card on the desk before throwing his arms around his brother again, holding on tightly for a few seconds before stepping back. "I understand, Seto. I'll try to get some more sleep. See you later."

"Sleep well," Kaiba told the child, ruffling his hair before watching him scurry out of the office. Then he sighed, and carefully inserted the Dark Magician into the pendant he always wore around his neck, right across the picture of a very young Mokuba. After snapping it closed, he called for his driver, then headed down to the front entryway to wait.


	3. Chapter 3

Requiem

* * *

When the doorbell rang at seven-thirty that morning at the game shop, the last person Solomon Muto and Joey Wheeler expected to see standing there was a very worn-looking Seto Kaiba. The elderly man invited him inside, more out of social nicety than genuine warmth. To both of their surprise, Kaiba accepted with a quick 'thanks,' which instantly erased the dark scowl from Joey's face, but didn't quite eradicate the suspicion in his heart.

"What can we do for you, Kaiba?" Solomon asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table across from where Joey had been stuffing his face with waffles. Kaiba silently extracted the Dark Magician from his locket and placed in the palm of the old man's hand.

"I came to return this. I think you would value this card more than I could."

The blonde leapt to his feet angrily. "Are you kidding, Kaiba? Yugi gets shot protecting you, and you try ripping off his favorite card?" Joey seemed ready to really get started, but Solomon casually lifted his hand to silence him.

"Kaiba, can you explain why you took this?"

The brunet hesitated, then shook his head. "No. There are no words."

"Then I understand," Solomon said, much to both Joey's and Kaiba's surprise. "Kaiba, Yugi considered you a close friend. I hope you understand what that means now."

"...I do." Silence ensued for a moment before Kaiba continued. "If any of you ever need anything, I owe you-"

"You _don't_ understand," Solomon interrupted him, something people rarely did to the CEO. "Friendship is not a matter of who owes who a favor for what. Favors are done out of compassion and camaraderie...Yugi would tell you that you owe him nothing."

Kaiba remained quiet for a bit, absorbing this new information, before turning to Joey.

"Wheeler, I've been working on a new Red Eyes-themed simulation game for Kaiba Land these past couple weeks. I'd appreciate your input, seeing as you seem to understand that card more than anyone. I can take you right now, if you'd like. There's also something else I want to show you."

Joey blinked, but continued to watch him with obvious mistrust. "I don't know, Kaiba..."

"Joey, I think this is a good opportunity. You've been hanging around here for the past few weeks, and while I appreciate your presence, you need to get out," Solomon told the blonde with an almost amused expression. "After all, I'm not sure how many more Twinkies will fit on that tower in the living room."

Kaiba smirked, but restrained himself from making that habitual insult. "Come on, Wheeler."

The blonde followed him out to his car, and the two went on in silence for awhile before Joey spoke up.

"Téa and Tristan have been blaming you for all this."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, but he held his tongue. Joey watched him intently for a moment before talking again.

"It's not your fault, though."

"Are you sure?" Kaiba snapped as the driver took a sharp left, causing Joey to tumble to the side a bit. The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Well...this woman...you didn't hire or betray her husband. It was all...that other guy..." Joey trailed off, recalling the vague knowledge of the hatred Kaiba had for his adoptive father. "You wouldn't treat any of your employees like that."

Kaiba didn't respond, and remained silent until they pulled up in front of the mansion. Joey was a little shocked; he'd thought they'd be heading to the Kaiba Corporation headquarters. But the two entered in silence, mostly because Joey was in complete awe over the amount of marble, elaborate art, and expensive-looking vases and other decor. He kicked his sneakers off next to where Kaiba had removed his own shoes, then followed the taller man up the stairs. Kaiba paused outside a room, then looked back at Joey.

"I need a minute to check on Mokuba," he told the blonde before quietly opening the door and approaching the child, who seemed to be sleeping well enough under his mountain of blankets. Kaiba sat down beside him, and gently adjusted a couple of the more wrinkled blankets before Mokuba awoke, blinking up at him sleepily.

"S'to?" he mumbled, then yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Are you going to sleep, too?"

"Not yet," Kaiba told him softly. "Joey Wheeler is here to see a couple of the things I've been working on."

"Joey?" Mokuba said, sitting up. "Where?"

"Right here, kid," the blonde announced, pushing the door open the rest of the way. Mokuba held his arms out, and Joey gave the child a quick hug. "Sounds like your brother's actually been working, even though the newspapers like to say he's been slacking off."

Mokuba grinned tiredly and burrowed back under his blankets, deciding not to admit that he'd basically been thinking the same thing. Apparently, Kaiba had been doing his own sort of work, and not even Mokuba knew what he was getting at.

"What're you going to do, Seto?" he asked, yawning once again, his eyelids starting to droop. Kaiba ran a hand through the child's bangs and sighed.

"I suppose I can tell you now," he said, a small smile threatening to appear on his lips. "As I told Wheeler, I've been designing a new virtual reality simulation based on the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and since that's his signature card, I've asked for his opinion. But what I really want his input on is the memorial I want to put in for Yugi." Kaiba looked up at the blonde, whose dark eyes were wide with surprise. "You were his best friend, and I think that you would know how to appreciate him more than anyone."

"Wow...Kaiba..." Joey stuttered, unsure of where to go with what he wanted to say. "I don't think Yugi would want you to worry about that, though."

"He deserves it," Mokuba piped up from his little cocoon. "He saved my best friend."

Kaiba squeezed one of the child's hands. "Go back to sleep. We had a long night. I just wanted to check in with you and let you know what's going on."

"Thank you, Seto," Mokuba said, and the other two watched as he immediately dropped off again. Kaiba stood up and led Joey to his office, then powered up his computer.

"Just sit down and we can get started."

* * *

**Author's Note**: This is the updated version of a one-shot I wrote awhile back based on this same plot. I just wanted to make it a three-shot thing, so _voila_.


End file.
